Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Department, in co-operation with the International Organisation of Medical Physics (IOMP), organised a training session for around 50 students from Weill Cornell Medicine.
The two-day session, organised in co-operation with HMC’s Medical Education Department, aimed to introduce the medical students to the role medical physicists’ play in the hospital environment.
“Medical physicists working in the healthcare setting use their knowledge of physics to develop new medical technologies and radiation-based treatments. They study the effects of radiation on the human body and how radiation interacts with the environment,” said Dr Huda al-Naemi, executive director of HMC’s OHS Department.
“Medical physicists work with doctors and other members of the healthcare team to ensure the safety and effectiveness of radiological procedures. The goal of this workshop was to introduce medical students to the breadth and depth of the role of medical physicists in the hospital environment,” she explained.
Pointing out that medical physics is a hybrid of physics and medicine, Dr al-Naemi said medical physicists collaborate with physicians and other medical professionals on the diagnosis and treatment of most patients who receive care at HMC.
But it is a field that much of the public, and even some medical professionals, know little about.
“There is a lot of overlap between medicine and medical physics but historically medical physicists in the health sector have worked behind the scenes, making sure that equipment is operating properly and that the treatment doctors order can be delivered. Their role is often unknown to patients, and even to some medical professionals, so the goal of this workshop was to expose medical students to the varied responsibilities of medical physicists,” said Dr al-Naemi.
Doctors and medical physicists work closely together, discussing treatment options and techniques and agreeing on patient treatment plans.
Dr al-Naemi added the role of medical physicists is continuing to expand, underscoring the importance of the session.
There are over 20 medical physicists working across HMC, providing essential clinical services by contributing to the diagnosis and treatment of individual patients and also participating in important research and development.
IOMP president Dr Madan Rehani was the main workshop speaker, with Dr al-Naemi, Dr Andrew John Jeremijenko (senior consultant, Emergency Medicine); Dr Noora al-Hammadi (chairman, Oncology Department); Dr Antar Aly (research scientist), Dr Adham Darweesh and Dr Ali Barah (senior consultants, Radiology Department); and Dr Hadi Fayad (medical physician, OHS Department) also presenting along with Weill Cornell’s Dr Mohamed Yousef.
Some of the participants of the training session for medical students.
